


Turning Pages

by lastingdreams



Category: The Debt (2011)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-22
Updated: 2011-12-22
Packaged: 2017-10-27 20:51:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/299928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lastingdreams/pseuds/lastingdreams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is somewhat of an alternate universe where Stephan isn't really in the picture and thus non-canon, except for the events that happened with Vogel. Your prompts were very helpful, and I hope you enjoy this 'fix it' fic as I have imagined it :)</p>
    </blockquote>





	Turning Pages

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rubynye](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rubynye/gifts).



> This is somewhat of an alternate universe where Stephan isn't really in the picture and thus non-canon, except for the events that happened with Vogel. Your prompts were very helpful, and I hope you enjoy this 'fix it' fic as I have imagined it :)

"Sarah, I have to tell you something," Rachel said as she called for her daughter to come to the living room.

“Oh I better sit down. You have that look on your face.”

Rachel always seemed to have a weary look about her these days. She was not the vibrant young lady she used to be, but there was a silent strength just beneath the surface that broke out whenever she spoke about that incident. It was no wonder Sarah wanted to write a book about the events from 1966, particularly with her mother and father starring as the national heroes that captured Dieter Vogel and had him pay for his crimes in WWII. However, the sort of story Rachel was about to tell was not just about heroic triumphs, but about the hidden truth and love.  


~*~*~

  
It was 1965 when the original two-man intelligence team, Stephan and David, were joined by Rachel. On the outside, Rachel and David played the happily married couple trying for their first pregnancy; on the inside, they were secretly plotting to capture Vogel. Although Stephan was the leader, he would not become the main character. The three of them were alone in East Germany with no easy escape; they could only rely on each other.

One particular night, it was especially cold out and David had just worked the fire to a roaring, toasty temperature. Rachel had gotten out of the shower, hair still wet, naturally gravitating towards the warmth. Both sat in silence as she brushed through her knotted hair, mesmerized by the flames in front of her.

David shifted his knees a little, startling her. He smiled in return as she laughed lightly at her response. He reached out a hand, offering to brush her hair for her.

At first, he was tentative, but as she started leaning into his touch, he struck a steady rhythm, smoothing her hair lightly after each stroke.

"Before we met, where were you stationed?" Rachel asked.

"Before all of this, I was working as a shepherd in Yad Hana. Stephan happened to be passing by for a mission. I trained for a few years, and then my first mission was in Buenos Aires, doing what we are doing now."

“Hmm, and it was a success?”

"Yes, which is why I requested this mission.”

“So, you were serious. This _is_ your goal.”

David stopped brushing, smoothing the hair out one last time, and turned to look at her.

“What about you?”

“I don’t know yet. This mission…is more frightening than any I have done before.”

“Makes you reevaluate life, doesn’t it?”

Rachel looked away into the fire, not wanting to face it just yet. He moved closer to her, strong and warm hands grasping her face to look into his eyes.

“But we have this life and what we are doing, what we may do in the future, is ours to decide.”

There was a faint smile on his face, one he seemed to be wearing more often since she started living with them. Rachel knew he was quiet, not the type to bear secrets to strangers, but when he did speak, he spoke genuinely. At this moment, that smile warmed her more than the fire itself.  


\---

  
Their momentary happiness was disrupted with the news that the mission would go on. They would capture Vogel and bring justice to their nation and people. They carried the history and emotions of their countrymen even when no one else knew about it yet. Their actions were theirs to decide, and if it should fail, they would also carry the burden of revealing that truth.

The mission failed at its final step. Whether it was due to the miscalculation of a drug dosage, or an unexpected cigarette break, or whether it was because a man chose the woman he loved over the goals he had set, it was done and nothing could be changed about it.

Stephan grew increasingly sarcastic and no one could really blame him. While David knew it was the right thing for him to do, he and Rachel felt the punishing weight of the outcome.

In the end, Vogel escaped and they decided to keep it a secret. Apart from the four of them, nobody would ever know. The scar was the physical reminder, the symbol of their struggle, triumph, and lies. Although the stories they told were those of their mission, the struggle was not just about the capture itself, but about defining their relationships and what they would be in the future.

To their nation, they were now heroes, but what were they to each other?  


\---

  
“David, don’t forget to bring home turnips tomorrow. I’m going to make some stew,” Rachel yelled upstairs.

“All right,” came the answer. “I’m going to pick up some cake too, Sarah’s been asking for some.”

“You need to stop giving her all those sweets!”

No reply came, but she knew he heard her.

Later, she went upstairs to find Sarah reading in her bedroom. “Was daddy reading you a bedtime story?”

“Yes, but I told him I could read it myself.” Rachel chuckled. “Of course you did. Goodnight, hun.”

“Goodnight, mommy.”

Rachel walked into her bedroom to find David reading at his desk. She sat down at her vanity and started cleaning her make-up. She climbed into the bed soon after and prepared to smooth her hair out before sleeping. David stopped his reading and climbed on the bed and took the brush from her hands.

Rachel still loved the way he brushed her hair however rare the occasion. At times, it acted as a kind of a peace offering whenever they fought. Small arguments like who would change take the trash out, if David was spoiling Sarah and buying her whatever she wanted, which silverware to use for certain guests and if it really mattered, if he really needed to iron his shirt -small things.

"What's the occasion?" she asked, smiling.

"Oh, nothing. Sarah's asleep finally and I am just really grateful for our family. For you."

David moved to ghost a fingertip across Rachel's scar and slowly leaned in to kiss it lightly. He planted a path of kisses to her lips and captured them eagerly. She leaned into his touch, gasping as his shirt, tongues gliding across each other, falling together. The warm blankets cushioned them as David landed on top, grounding into her body, continuing the searing kiss. She gasped as he moved his hands up her skirt, brushing against her thighs, and moaning as he tugged at her undergarments.

The door creaked opened and a small face peaked in. "Mommy, Daddy—

Before Sarah could utter all those words out, David had reluctantly pulled away, while Rachel was trying very hard not to laugh as she untangled their bodies.

“… I think there's a monster in my closet.”

The couple investigated the monster, and it turned out to be a jacket that had fallen off its hanger. When they returned to their bedroom, they sat on the bed, sighing.

"I have work in the morning," David stated.

"Yea, we should go to bed. But."

"But?" David quirked an eyebrow.

"We shall continue this another time." She replied with a quick peck on his lips.

Chuckling slightly, they slipped under the covers and turned the lights off.  


~*~*~

  
When Rachel finished telling the story as she and David knew it and not the one ‘Uncle’ Stephan had glorified it to be. Sarah sat in silence. There was no evidence of shock or disappointment in her face, but just a faint smile, the one that looked so much like her father’s.

“What are you thinking?”

“I knew the three of you couldn’t have been that cool. Fighting the evil man and in the last minute, shooting him and saving the day.”

David walked in from the kitchen, bringing some tea. “You didn’t believe us, huh?”

“I’m still very proud of you, proud to be your daughter. You were very brave no matter what happened. There was just something about the way the two of you avoided the topic. Dad, you were never good at lying,” Sarah clarified.

David sat down next to Rachel and squeezed her hand, laughing together.

So this is what their life turned out to be 30 years later. Whatever goals they had in mind before, out of the unknown possibilities, they were satisfied with the results. Years after the 1966 mission, there were still people interested in their story now cemented into their daughter's book, but they no longer needed to hide the truth from their family. Instead, they had their own story to write and the best part was yet to come.


End file.
